'THE SKY BLUE DIAMOND' Superb fancy vivid blue diamond ring, Cartier

Set with a square-cut fancy vivid blue diamond weighing 8.01 carats, the geometric mount set with brilliant-cut and baguette diamonds, size 51, signed Cartier, numbered, French assay and maker's marks.

Accompanied by GIA report no. 2125017707, dated 8 June 2010, stating that the square emerald-cut diamond weighing 8.01 carats and measuring 11.65 x 11.16 x 7.05mm, is Fancy Vivid Blue, Natural Colour, VVS1 Clarity, Excellent Polish; together with a GIA letter expressing the rarity of the stone and stating that the diamond is Type IIb. Signed Cartier, numbered VX4667, French maker's mark. French assay mark and stamped PT 950 for platinum. Inscribed 53 – 8.01ct, referring to the carat weight of the central diamond. For further details on the central diamond, please refer to the GIA report. Remaining diamonds bright and lively. Little signs of wear to the metal. In very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Please note that colour, clarity and weight of gemstones are statements of opinion only and not statements of fact by Sotheby's. We do not guarantee, and are not responsible for any certificate from a gemological laboratory that may accompany the property. We do not guarantee that watches are in working order. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue, in particular to the Notice regarding the treatment and condition of gemstones.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Blue is the colour of trust, honesty, loyalty, reliability and responsibility. This idealistic colour inspires higher ideals, and evokes peace and tranquillity. In nature, it is the colour of water and sky. The colour sky blue, particularly, emanates calm, serenity, spirituality and infinity, and refers to the heavens and what is above.

Blue is one of the primary colours and has been used by many artists as a strong component of their works. Even in the decorative arts, this colour is omnipresent. The porcelain manufacture of Sèvres is so famous for its production of blue objects that Sèvres porcelain has become synonymous with the colour: le bleu de Sèvres. Wedgewood also used the combination of blue and white to make its distinctive creations. In fine art, the great Old Master painters demonstrated their talents with their depiction of nature, recreating the delicate and fine aspects of a landscape, selecting just the right colour for the skin on portraits, and using the perfect hue for the subject in a still life. The reproduction of sky has always been one of the artists’ favourite subjects. The skies of John Constable are widely renowned and highly sought after. Many of Monet’s works feature great swathes of blue sky. During the same period, Matisse was using a warm blue to realise his Nudes. Later, Yves Klein took this colour almost as his signature and these days the term ‘Klein blue’ is commonly used. Contemporary artists are still fascinated by this colour and the reproduction of the sky, like Edward Ruscha, with his Mirror Image Level, which will be offered in the Contemporary Art auction in November.

Wassily Kandinsky, in his essay Du spirituel dans l'art, assures: “Blue is a celestial colour, evoking a deep calm… The deeper the blue becomes, the more strongly it calls man towards the infinite, awakening in him a desire for the pure and, finally, for the supernatural”.

Blue attracts and fascinates people and there is no exception when this colour occurs in a diamond. Fancy Vivid Blue diamonds have a beauty that is incomparable to that of any other gem. They are greatly admired and eagerly sought after by collectors and connoisseurs. Considering that the blue colour in stones is often not evenly spread, and on occasion entirely absent, the encapsulating of a beautiful pure even blue colour is truly a professional challenge for the diamond cutter. He will spend months studying the proportions of the rough in order to guarantee the greatest standards of proportionality, colour and beauty, and to bring out this captivating colour, making fancy vivid blue one of the nature’s rarest endowments of colour in diamonds.

Ever since Jean-Baptiste Tavernier sold the French Blue to Louis XIV in 1669, the world has been mesmerised by the rarity of blue diamonds. Reminiscent of the hues of the azure sea, blue diamonds owe their colouration to the trace element boron. Although other rare coloured diamonds, such as pink and red, are found in India, Brazil and Australia, blue diamonds are primarily recovered from the Cullinan mine in South Africa. Their colour may range from a pale blue to a light sky blue to a dark blue. The more intense colours, fancy vivid, are considered the rarest and most desirable.

In recent years, Sotheby’s has handled some of the most notable blue diamonds at auction and holds the world auction record price per carat for any diamond and gemstone with the ‘Blue Moon of Josephine’, a 12.03 Fancy Vivid Blue diamond, sold in November 2015 in Geneva for more than USD 4 million per carat.